The History of King Lear

The History of King Lear Nahum Tate, adapted from William Shakespeare

The History of King Lear is an adaptation made by Nahum Tate of Shakespeare's King Lear.. It appeared in 1681, some seventy-five years after Shakespeare's version. It provides a happy ending, with Lear regaining his throne at the end, adds a romance between Edgar and Cordelia (who never address each other in Shakespeare's play), and ends with a happy Edgar declaring that "truth and virtue shall at last succeed." Although many critics condemned Tate's adaptation for its cheap sentimentality, it was approved by Samuel Johnson and was popular with theatregoers. From the first appearance of Tate's adaptation, Shakespeare's version was not seen again in full on stage for over a hundred and fifty years, being replaced in whole or in part by Tate's tragicomedy.— Excerpted from The History of King Lear on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Facsimile of the first edition, 1681

• The Epistle Dedicatory

• Prologue

• The Persons

• Act I

• Act II

• Act III

• Act IV

• Act V

• Epilogue

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.